Nets cruise past Hornets despite missing Harden

Jeff Green scored 21 points and the Brooklyn Nets did not miss a beat despite playing without James Harden, ripping the visiting Charlotte Hornets, 111-89, on Thursday, April 1 (Friday, April 2, Manila time).

The Nets, who have been bemoaning recent slow starts, broke out to a 32-11 lead after one quarter.

Landry Shamet and Tyler Johnson came off the bench for Brooklyn to score 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Kyrie Irving racked up 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Bruce Brown had 14 points for the Nets, who were 20-for-45 on three-point attempts. Green, Shamet and Johnson all made 5 three-pointers.

Gordon Hayward and Devonte Graham each scored 13 points and Terry Rozier had 12 points as the top scorers among the Hornets’ starters. Off the bench, Malik Monk had 11 points and Miles Bridges provided 10 points for the Hornets, who are 1-1 on a six-game road swing.

The Nets played without Harden, who averages 26.1 points per game. He suffered a hamstring injury a night earlier and sat out the 4th quarter in their comeback victory against the Houston Rockets. His condition is not expected to keep him out of the lineup for long, but the Nets did fine without him for at least one game.

Nets newcomer Blake Griffin also missed the game.

The shooting was so good for the most part that the Nets were hampered by 15 turnovers. They benefited from a 56-43 advantage in rebounding.

Brooklyn put together this performance despite receiving just 9 points from Joe Harris, who was 3-for-10 from the field. Irving turned in 8 assists and Harris had 6 assists.

The Nets became the first Eastern Conference team to win 20 home games this season.

Charlotte shot 35% from the field. The Hornets had another low-scoring quarter with 17 points in the 3rd.

Brooklyn and Charlotte have split two games this season. – Rappler.com